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We are helping to launch a new Room 13 creative studio at San Rafael Elementary this fall and we need your help. It’s time to clean out your garages, attics, craft rooms and closets! This is the perfect opportunity to donate supplies that you are no longer using to the future young artists of Room13 – San Rafael! Don’t miss this chance to support art in a Pasadena public elementary school.

YOUR ARRIVAL: The staging area for the parade is on Nina Street between Altadena Drive and Vinedo (just one block north of Colorado Boulevard). Go to MapQuest or Google and enter 73 No. Vinedo St., Pasadena, CA 91107 (check-in is in parking lot here).

Please arrive and check-in NO LATER THAN 10:00am. Each group’s main contact should check-in for the group. Additional unpaid marchers, or brand new entries who appear that morning, will be collected at check-in. The main entry contact person (on the form) will be given parade stickers for every participant in their group. All of your people should wear them so they’re visible.

Vehicles not in the parade will need to drop off people, props, floats, etc., and find parking outside of the staging area. HAPPY NOTE: There is GREAT free, all-day parking on Walnut Street, located just one block north of the staging area. The earlier you come, the easier it is to park!

Come early, mingle, have fun, take pictures, practice your routines, pose, there will be lots of media on hand.

CHECK-IN: Check-In will be open at 8:00am for the early birds. The location is at Nina and Vinedo Streets (parking lot at Nina/Vinedo–the front of the entry staging area). It will be easy to find.

PARADE TIPS:The Doo Dah Parade has no marching order, so find a place that makes you comfortable. But, remember, it’s first-come-first-serve. If you are concerned about your spot, come early. Think about what is fun in front and behind you.

If you’re a band you’ll probably want to find a place that’s not in front of or behind another musical group. Entries have been really good at figuring this out!

Please do not throw any hard objects into the crowd, and keep in mind the trash left behind.

MORE PARADE TIPS: Make sure to wear comfortable shoes unless your costume begs for something else! Bring water and snacks for before the parade. There will also be Robin’s Wood Fire BBQ food booth set up on the parade route next to Poo Bah Records and across the street from Denny’s Restaurant, the home of the grand slam!

FOOD: Food will be freshly cooked on the parade route at Robin’s Wood Fire BBQ booth opening at 10:15am in the street next to Poo Bah Records. They will be serving All-American street food, including all kinds of sausages, hot dogs, beer brauts, fresh squeezed lemonade and more at reasonable prices, with a portion of proceeds benefitting Pasadena Doo Dah Parade, so please get your goodies here and support us. The Lion’s Club will be selling coffee, hot chocolate, donuts and water.They will be set up in the parade staging area.

It’s official! The 13th Order of the Thorny Rose has spoken. This year’s recipient is Pasadena Star News editor Frank Girardot. The honor is bestowed annually by a secret panel of judges to a local personality who has generated significant controversy in the greater Pasadena community.

Girardot, who also has a regular column, has used the newspaper as a platform to take aim at iconic personalities and institutions, which have included Paul McCartney, President Barack Obama, Pasadena City Hall and the Roman Catholic Church. It can be said that political correctness and sitting on the fence are not among Frank Girardot’s top priorities. “If the day comes that those traits define him, it will be time for a huge reality check,” said parade organizers. “Frank is definitely a throwback to the days when reporters dug in to get their story. In so doing, he has ruffled plenty of feathers along the way.”

As is the tradition for Thorny Rose winners, Frankwill be invited to receive his award in public and be driven along the route of the 36th Pasadena Doo Dah Parade. The unique “Other Parade” takes place on Saturday, April 27th, stepping off at 11:00am at its new Colorado Boulevard location in East Pasadena. The only Thorny Rose awardee to pass up the invitation was local gadfly Wayne Lasvardi and development watchers Pasadenans for a Liveable City. They were consequently replaced by a man in a chicken suit who rode on their behalf.

The prickly honor, bestowed once a year on a Pasadena citizen, or group of citizens, and has been euphemistically called the city’s “biggest pain-in-the-ass award.” Previous recipients have been Charles Cherniss, Roy Begley, the entire PUSD School Board, school critic Mary Dee Romney, West Pasadena Residents Association, Wayne Lasvardi, Ann Lau and the Falun Gong, Friends of Hahamongna, Pasadenans for a Liveable City, and last year’s Thorny Rose, All Saints Reverend Ed Bacon. Paul Little, former city councilperson, received the honor two years in a row!

Thank you to all the Doo Dah lovers who participated in Sunday’s Queen Tryouts! We appreciate every Queen who tried out, every judge and audience member.

Unlike the other parade, all of the Pasadena Doo Dah Queen hopefuls are invited to be part of the Doo Dah Royal Court. Queen’s Susann’s Entourage will be receiving more info soon about when and where to go on the morning of the 27th.

Don’t see a photo of you? Don’t worry! There will be an album on the Doo Dah Facebook page with a large collection of images from the evening. There are plenty accumulating now!

Susann Edmonds was given the royal nod by a motley assembly of 50 judges and 250 spectators at the American Legion Bar in East Pasadena tonight. She got stiff competition from Mialaka Bonadara who incorporated four large pizzas into her performance and another contender who danced in burlesque style with pasties set to a punk rock tune. Susann, an Altadena resident, woowed judges with her singing enthusiasm and homemade cocktail elixirs.

Her royal majesty and her royal court, comprised of all the queen hopefuls, will entertain the parade on Saturday, April 27th, at 11oclock in the morning. Queen Susann will lead the Queen’s Court, made up of her friends and royal followers. All those who tried out for Queen are encouraged to come and roll with the Queen’s Entourage!

More Info on Queen Tryouts: Organizers staged the first public tryouts in 1998 at a Gothic house on stilts. It then moved to the famed Zorthian Ranch, in Altadena. This and other parodies of Pasadena’s ‘Other Parade’ have fueled Doo Dah’s colorful and controversial life on Colorado Boulevard. The 36th Occasional Pasadena Doo Dah Parade will be held on Saturday, April 27th stepping off at 11:00am on the streets of East Pasadena.

To enter the parade simply go to the website and fill out a form, or call for more information on Tryouts or Entries (626) 590-1134, or Public Information Number: (626)590-7596.

WHAT: The 36TH OCCASIONAL PASADENA DOO DAH PARADE

WHERE: Colorado Boulevard (between Altadena and San Gabriel Boulevards) in East Pasadena.

WHEN: SATURDAY, APRIL 27TH, Stepping off at 11:00AM!

COST: Always FREE-of-charge!!

Those interested in participating in the Parade can simply go to the website and fill out an entry form, or call (626) 590-1134.

cover; 1st 20 queen hopefuls to arrive are free! 1 admission per Queen Entourage. Trying out? Call 626-590-1134 and we will answer your questions and give you tips. Open to everyone and we mean it! All are encouraged to dress randomly even if coming to watch.

WHAT: Each Queen Hopeful will have a few minutes to WOW the Judges. Microphone and boom box, even drumroll, provided. Be ready to show us and tell us why YOU should be Queen! Bring Loyal Followers and HUMOR!

36TH OCCASIONAL PASADENA DOO DAH PARADE

WHERE: Colorado Boulevard (between Altadena and San Gabriel Boulevards) in East Pasadena.

WHAT: Daring to go where no parade has gone before, this year’s parade will bring its own brand of raucus eccentricity East. Join us on…

Alan Zorthian, architect, art lover and proprietor of Zorthian Ranch, will serve as Grand Marshal of the 36th Occasional Pasadena Doo Dah Parade.Zorthian, son of well-loved bohemian couple Jirayr and Dabney Zorthian, has been responsible for renewing the life of the unique multi-acre property in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in Altadena.

Alan grew up surrounded by artists and musicians and is no stranger to Doo Dah culture. Other Grand Marshals in the family include cousin, Savitri D., wife and collaborator with “Reverend Billy” and the Church of Stop Shopping who served in 2007, and of course Alan’s parents, Jirayr and Dabney, who each served in previous years.

Upon their passing, many have conjectured about the fate of Zorthian Ranch. Alan took leadership by building and reinforcing structures on the property, while providing an archive for the art and life of his well-known parents.

Alan also hosts an annual International Folk Music Festival, and has invited the Institute for Urban Ecology to create an urban farm on 22-acres of ranch property. Now the Zorthian Ranch not only remains the site of eclectic cultural gatherings, it will become a hub for ecological workshops and organic ‘growing.’

Upon being notified of his selection, Alan who sounded like he was in his car, paused then uttered, “I’m flabberghasted!” adding “I am not my parents but I gladly accept the honor!” he said.

Parade organizer Tom Coston says Zorthian has all the qualities a Doo Grand Marshal should possess. “Alan has always been a big supporter and friend, he carries the Zorthian torch proudly and has Doo Dah in his DNA.” he explains.

The new Grand Marshal will lead hundreds of Doo Dah marchers and revelers on Saturday, April 27th, stepping off at 11am in East Pasadena.

Plenty of street parking is available ~ Parade route is also just west of the Sierra Madre Villa Gold Line Station (at Colorado Blvd. and Sierra Madre Villa). City busses go directly to the area.

Come early! Bring a lawn chair! Visit the local eateries and shops, and attend the after parties all within walking distance. Robin’s Wood Fire BBQ restaurant will be selling a wide range of savory foods on the parade route.